# Audio-Visual Entrainment Neuromodulation: A Review of Technical and Functional Aspects

## TL;DR

This review explores audiovisual entrainment (AVE), a non-invasive brain stimulation method using sound and light rhythms, and highlights the need for more rigorous research to determine its effectiveness.

## Contribution

The paper introduces a structured framework for reporting AVE parameters to improve standardization and facilitate future research.

## Key findings

- AVE protocols vary widely, making it difficult to compare results across studies.
- Current evidence for AVE's efficacy is inconsistent, with some studies showing limited or no effects.
- Standardized reporting of AVE parameters is needed to advance research and clinical applications.

## Abstract

Audiovisual Entrainment (AVE) is a non-invasive, non-pharmacological neuromodulation approach that aims to align brain activity with externally delivered auditory and visual rhythms. This review surveys AVE’s historical development, technical parameters (e.g., frequency, phase, waveform, color, intensity, presentation mode), components and delivery methods, reported clinical applications, and safety considerations. Given the heterogeneity of AVE protocols and terminology, we conducted a structured narrative review (PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar; earliest records to July 2025), including human and animal studies that met an operational definition of regulated AVE and consistent administration of specified auditory and visual frequencies, with critical methodological details reported. We highlight AVE’s accessibility and versatility, outline a stepwise parameter reporting framework to support standardization, and discuss putative mechanisms via sensory and oscillatory pathways. However, current findings are heterogeneous and include null or limited effects. Mechanistic understanding and parameter optimization remain insufficiently developed, and premature claims of efficacy are not warranted. Rigorous, standardized, and adequately controlled studies are needed before AVE can be considered a reliable therapeutic tool.